Sandstone offering table of
Qenabelile

From Faras, SudanMeroitic
Period, 1st-2nd centuries AD

Offering table showing a goddess and Anubis
pouring water

Meroitic offering tables tend to be roughly
square in shape, with a central depression for holding liquids.
Some examples bear illustrations of offerings, while this one shows
a goddess on the left and
Anubis
on the right pouring water on behalf of the deceased. Around the
outside is an inscription which names the owner and gives his
parentage.

The Meroitic
language is written in two scripts, one derived from
hieroglyphs
and the other a more cursive form, as here. Although the
sound-values of the signs are known, insufficient material for
comparison, especially bilingual inscriptions or related languages
that are understood, has been found to enable the language to be
analysed or translated properly. Thus names can mostly be read, but
the longer inscriptions largely defy
interpretation.